FIRE warnings issued on the worst conditions since Black Saturday have been branded confusing and inappropriate for Victoria's open plains and as a "government cop out" by some CFA volunteers.

While community leaders and CFA volunteers have not taken this week's weather warnings lightly, some in open cropping areas of the Wimmera say the Code Red warnings left many in the community confused.

Many fear the warnings, if they are not better-tailored to local regional conditions, could breed community complacency.

Rupanyup CFA brigade captain Ronnie Cahill said there was confusion in the Wimmera about what people should do on Monday when a Code Red warning was issued.

"I had people ringing asking if they should leave, they were confused, but I said I thought the safest thing to do in our area was to stay inside and be alert," Mr Cahill said.

"It's no different to the last 100 years here, you just need a bit of commonsense.

"I think there needs to be more education about what is a bushfire-prone area.

"But here at Rupanyup, which is a flat farming area, we just need to be aware, but I don't think it is as bad a bushfire-prone place as somewhere like Halls Gap, but there needs to be more education so people know the difference."

West Wimmera Shire council mayor and Minimay farmer Ron Hawkins said the "get out now" message was "a bit alarmist" for the entire Wimmera region.

"Conditions in areas out here, where it's more wide open spaces with not a lot of people, cannot be compared with really fire-prone areas like in the Grampians, so while I support the thrust of what they're doing, I can't support the alarmist talk that's unsettling people," he said.

In the North East , residents treated yesterday as any other hot summer's day.

Those in high risk areas identified safer areas within their district but had not opted to leave.

Others on farms had taken precautions, some with CFA help, in readiness to defend their properties and were staying put.

But most were sitting at home, tuned in to the radio and keeping out of the heat.

Bill Mosterd, secretary of the CFA brigade at Walwa described the Code Red warnings as "putting the cart before the horse".

"We're certainly ready, but we don't want people panicking when nothing happens ... otherwise, in a few years time, these warnings might not have the right effect," he said.

Mr Mosterd said the warning was relevant to people living in high-risk areas such as the mountains and that those properties had been identified.

"But people won't be leaving their house in the town (of Walwa) if there's no fire ... where else would there be for them to go?"

Malcolm Carson, member of the Cheshunt and Oxley CFA brigades for 35 years, described the blanket warnings as a "cop out" by the government.

He said the government should focus more on fire prevention and education and greater penalties for arson and bigger rewards for information on the origin of fires.

He and his family would "definitely stay home and be prepared".

Corryong CFA captain Terry Forrest said the catastrophic warning had made people jumpy but that most were treating it as any other hot day and acting with caution.

"We take a Code Red day as jolly serious and it is better to be safe than sorry ... but if you live in an isolated area and every time there's a Code Red warning, you have to evacuate, it could get a bit monotonous."

CFA chief fire officer Russell Rees said Code Red warnings were based on Bureau of Meteorology weather districts and were part of a new national fire danger rating system, to give people clear advice about recommended actions on a given fire danger rating to save lives.

"The CFA is not advising all residents to leave a district declared as Code Red," he said.

"If you are in a high-risk area and your plan is to leave, the safest option is to leave the night before or early in the day on a day when the Fire Danger Rating is Code Red in your district."

Police and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron said it was entirely appropriate for fire science experts to make the fire danger rating predictions.

"The fact is that temperatures in the Wimmera reached nearly 44 degrees yesterday, accompanied by gusty winds and the fire danger was very real," Mr Cameron said.

"We are now in the peak of the fire season and we are asking Victorians to continue working together."

Meanwhile, in the state's far west, CFA volunteers claimed to The Weekly Times that the Department of Sustainability and Environment shut fire-watch towers at Chetwynd and Corndale at noon on Monday because it was too hot for the operators.

A CFA volunteer said the towers were vital for fire-fighting efforts and had never been shut before, leaving the community concerned the DSE could not be relied upon.